Museums

Thursday

Sep 20, 2018 at 1:11 PMSep 20, 2018 at 1:22 PM

Barnstable

Barnstable Historical Society Museum: 3087 Main St., Barnstable Village; barnstablehistoricalsociety@gmail.com; 508-362-2982. 1-4 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays. Mission is to create and foster an interest in the cultural heritage and maritime history of town of Barnstable. See portraits, tools, kitchen utensils, toys and even a wooden bicycle. Learn about early industries on Cape Cod. FREE!

West Parish Meetinghouse: 2049 Meetinghouse Way, West Barnstable; 1717meetinghouse.org. Self-guided tours, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. One of two surviving First Period New England meetinghouses, the authentically restored post and beam structure was site of Barnstable town meetings for 130 years (creation of United States debated here), site of first school in Barnstable, and as home West Parish of Barnstable congregation, has provided many services to the community. FREE!

Zion Union Heritage Museum: 276 North St., Hyannis; 508-790-9466. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays; tours arranged by calling 508-776-4330. Mission is to celebrate African-American and Cape Verdean population as well as other ethnic and demographic diversity. Cultural exhibits with artifacts and art, local arts and crafts and opportunities to promote oral, public and local history projects. $5, $4 seniors, $3 ages 10-17, free under age 10.

Jonathan Bourne Historic Center: Keene Street, Bourne. 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Wednesdays. An architectural “gem” given to the town by daughter of whaling magnate Jonathan Bourne, for whom the town was named. Building houses town archives as well as exhibits of artifacts from Bourne Historical Society.

Falmouth Museums on the Green: 55 and 65 Palmer Ave.; 508-548-4857. 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays. A treasure trove of artifacts and stories about town of Falmouth, featuring two 18th-century houses displaying period furniture, fine art, textiles and rotating exhibits. Campus tours: $5 each, includes guided tours of 1790 Dr. Francis Wicks House; exhibitions in c.1730 Conant House; Hallett Barn Visitors Center; Cultural Center; Colonial Gardens & Memorial Park. Children 12 and under are free. Members of Historical Society as well as of Historic Highfield can tour for free. Active servicemen and servicewomen also free.

NOAA’s Woods Hole Science Aquarium: 166 Water St. 508-495-2001. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays; closed federal holidays. Small public aquarium that displays approximately 140 species of marine animals found in Northeast and Middle-Atlantic U.S. waters. Self-guided tours of main exhibits and behind-the-scenes look at aquarium operations. Donations accepted.

Cape Cod Children’s Museum: 577 Great Neck Road South. 508-539-8788; capecodchildrensmuseum.org. 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturdays, noon to 5 p.m. Sundays. The mission of the Cape Cod Children’s Museum is to provide a learning environment that stimulates curiosity, creativity and imagination, inspiring children and their families to engage with each other, their community and the world at large. $9 ages 1-59, $8 seniors 60+, free with military ID and under age 1.

Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Museum: 414 Route 130. Open by appointment: 508-477-9339 (museum); 508-477-0208, ext. 101 (Tribal Historic Preservation office); mashpeewampanoagtribe.com/museum. Housed in a fine example of an old half Cape Cod house, the museum contains displays of ancient artifacts and other Native American heirlooms that form a chronological commentary on life among the Wampanoag for thousands of years. Displays include variety of tools, baskets, hunting and fishing implements, weapons and domestic utensils. Focal point in exhibits is large diorama depicting a typical scene from an early Wampanoag settlement. $5, $2 ages 6-18, $10 family, $4 seniors and educators.

Nantucket

Museum of African American History: 29 York St., Five Corners; 508-228-9833. Noon-4 p.m. Sundays, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturdays (walking tours 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Saturdays). The African Meeting House on Nantucket is island’s most vivid reminder of a thriving 19th-century African American community. Erected in the 1820s by the African Baptist Society (of which Captain Absalom Boston was a trustee), it is the only public building still in existence that was constructed and occupied by the island’s African Americans during the nineteenth century. The small post-and-beam building dates from c1827, when it was a church, a school for African children, and a meeting house. Today the Museum of African American History presents cultural programs and interpretive exhibits on the history of African Americans on Nantucket, and makes the African Meeting House available for ceremonies and special events. $10, $8 seniors 62+ and ages 13-17, free ages 12 and under.

Whaling Museum: 13 Broad St. at Steamboat Wharf. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily. Ongoing exhibitions about Nantucket history, local decorative arts, scrimshaw and interactive, hands-on learning opportunities for children 12 and under. Museum includes a restored 1847 candle factory with its original whale-oil beam press, a 47-foot sperm whale skeleton, a fully rigged whaleboat, collection of whaling tools, the 16-foot Fresnel lens from Sankaty lighthouse and portraits of whaling captains and their wives. All access pass includes multiple entries to museum in one day: $20, $18 seniors and students, $5 ages 6-17, free under age 6.

Nantucket Historical Association Research Library: 7 Fair St. 1-4 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays and by appointment. Research assistance available on all aspects of Nantucket history: whaling, genealogy, house histories, art and architecture, and historic photographs. $5 user fee.

Nantucket Lightship Basket Museum: 49 Union St. 508-228-1177. nantucketlightshipbasketmuseum.org. 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. Dedicated to preserving Nantucket’s rich history of basket making, supporting scholarship of this art form, and encouraging and mentoring new generations of lightship basket makers. Goal of museum is for collection to include representative examples of the work of noted basket makers from the pre-lightship era through current day contemporary artists. The museum’s collections are developed by acquisition through unrestricted donations, bequests or through exchange with other institutions. $7, $3 ages 6-17.

Nantucket Shipwreck and Lifesaving Museum: 158 Polpis Road; 508-228-1885; eganmaritime.org. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, noon-5 p.m. Sundays. An affiliate of Egan Maritime Institute, museum features permanent and changing exhibitions. Permanent exhibits are devoted to history of Nantucket lifesaving, famous shipwrecks and rescues around the island, life-saving equipment, daily routine at life-saving stations, and United States Coast Guard today. From collection of over 5,000 artifacts, other highlights of museum include period surfboats, beach carts, vintage photographs and Fresnel lenses from Brant Point Lighthouse and another from Great Point Light. $10, $7 seniors and students, $5 ages 6-17, free under age 6.

Maria Mitchell Association: Calendar of programs and events: mariamitchell.org. 508-228-9198. Loines Observatory: 59 Milk St.: Check calendar for open night schedule. Visitors invited to join professional astronomers for tour of starry sky and telescopic viewing of the moon, planets, galaxies and more. Natural Science Museum & Gift Shop: 7 Milk St.: open select dates (check online calendar). Cross between classic natural history museum, zoo and science center. Learn about plants, animals and birds of Nantucket. Visit gift shop to pick up educational toys and books as well as binoculars, field guides, insect vials and butterfly nets.Historic Mitchell House: 1 Vestal St.: 508-228-2896. Open select dates (check online calendar). Built in 1790, this typical Quaker house was acquired by the Mitchell family in 1818. The home became a museum in 1903 when Maria Mitchell Association founders acquired the house to preserve the legacy of one of Nantucket’s most illustrious daughters. House contains many artifacts from Mitchells’ daily life in 19th century.

Orleans

The French Cable Station Museum: 41 South Orleans Road (Route 28). frenchcablestationmuseum.org. 1-4 p.m. Fridays through Sundays (last tour 3:30 p.m.). Guided tour showing history and equipment of the telegraph cable from France to the United States. Donations accepted.

Provincetown

Pilgrim Monument and Provincetown Museum: 1 High Pole Hill Road; 508-487-1310; pilgrim-monument.org. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily. Pilgrim Monument commemorates Pilgrims’ first landing in America. Visitors can easily walk to the top using a series of steps and ramps. Museum features history of Provincetown and the Outer Cape with exhibits on the Pilgrims and the Mayflower, Provincetown theater history, and artifacts collected by sea captains. Last monument climb 30 minutes before closing. $12, $10 seniors, $4 ages 4-12, free ages 3 and under.

Sandwich

Benjamin Nye Homestead and Museum: 85 Old County Road, East Sandwich, 508-888-4213; nyefamily.org. 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. Seventeenth century farmhouse built by Benjamin Nye, who came to Sandwich in 1637. The grist mill he built in 1669 was powered by the spring-fed stream that still runs in front of the homestead. Setting includes the mill site, nature trails and an 1889 Grange Hall. In the homestead, rooms have been restored to different time periods, with antique furnishings and Nye family memorabilia. Operated by the Nye Family of American Association Inc. $5, free under age 12.

Highland House Museum: 27 Highland Light Road, North Truro; trurohistoricalsociety.org/highlandhouse; 508-487-3397. 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. Museum occupies one of Truro’s best known landmarks, the old Highland House, a hotel built on the Highlands in 1907. Located near Highland Light, it’s a classic example of a turn-of-the-century summer resort hotel. Visit to museum provides an insight into the lives of the people of Truro dating back to early European settlers and the Native Americans that preceded them. $7, $5 ages 6-17, free under age 6.

Edward Gorey House: 8 Strawberry Lane, off Route 6A, Yarmouth Port; 508-362-3909; edwardgoreyhouse.org. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays, noon-4 p.m. Sundays. Previously owned and lived in by the late artist, author, playwright and set and costume designer Edward Gorey, the house celebrates and preserves his life and work, and honors Gorey’s passion and concern for animals. $8, $5 students and seniors, $2 ages 6-12, under age 6 free.

Winslow Crocker House: 250 Route 6A, Yarmouth Port. historicnewengland.org; 617-994-6661. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturdays. Trader and land speculator Winslow Crocker built the house around 1780 in West Barnstable and it was moved to its current location in 1936 by Mary Thacher, an antiques collector. Learn about a colonial Cape Cod house with a 20th century flavor. As featured in the current issue of early Homes Magazine, the rooms are filled with Mary Thacher’s collection of furniture, including Jacobean, William and Mary, Queen Anne and Chippendale styles. The house is owned and operated by Historic New England. Private group tours available by appointment. $5, $4 seniors, $3 students. Yarmouth residents free with ID.

Capt. Bangs Hallet House Museum: 11 Strawberry Lane, off Route 6A, Yarmouth Port; hsoy.org. 508-362-3021. 1-4 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays. New exhibit for 2018: “Let There Be Light: Early Lighting Devices,” from collection of Charles and Barbara Adams. The museum is the only furnished sea captain’s house regularly open to the public on Cape Cod, featuring the seafaring days to the Far East in the 1800s. Also an 18th century kitchen. Docent-led tours start at 1, 2 and 3 p.m. $5, free for children and Yarmouth residents.

Art Museums

Cahoon Museum of American Art: 4676 Falmouth Road (Route 28), Cotuit. cahoonmuseum.org. 508-428-7581. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and 1-4 p.m. Sundays. Collection of 19th-century American art and primitive paintings by Ralph and Martha Cahoon. Regular exhibitions and part of permanent collection on view, as well as gift shop. $10, $8 seniors and students, free for ages under 12.